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What Is Catch Me If You Can Film Techniques

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In the film Catch Me If You Can, by Steven Spielberg, Carl Hanratty, is an FBI agent on the chase for Frank Abagnale Jr. In this scene, he finds out Frank is hiding in a small town in France at a factory writing himself cheques. He then convinces Frank to handcuff himself and turn himself into the french officers. During this scene, Spielberg uses four main film techniques to create a theme and moods. These techniques are, cinematography, editing, colour and lighting, and sound. Spielberg uses these four techniques to create a mood and build suspense. The use of these techniques links to the theme that Frank’s actions will eventually have consequences because the director is making the audience believe that Frank could get caught, meaning Frank’s actions will have consequences.

The first film technique spielberg successfully uses is cinematography. Specifically, he uses close up shots on Frank and Carl’s face during their conversation about whether Carl is telling the truth and then swears on his daughter's life. During these close ups, there is a good use of camera movement by zooming even further into their faces. The use of this technique gives a strong effect on the audience by showing the seriousness and emotion in the characters faces. It also shows the tension and suspense in the room. This shows …show more content…

Some themes these techniques highlight in the scene are, escaping and hiding your identity, actions will catch up with you, and throughout the film, appearances can be deceiving. Overall, throughout Frank's arrest scene in Catch Me If You Can, Spielberg uses a combination of close up shots, low-key into high-key lighting, a series of short cuts during Frank and Carl's dialogue, and background non-diegetic sound to help develop a suspenseful, tense mood, as well as create an emotional connection between Frank and the

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